The Weekly Fix | 07.21.25

⚠️ Casual Project Management Will Get Your Fired⚠️

I’m currently behind on my project paperwork. Again.
Not because I don’t know how to write a charter or outline a milestone path -

But because, in the thick of meetings, stakeholder updates, and supporting teams through chaos, it’s the first thing that slips.

I shift into triage mode. I manage from instinct and intuition. And honestly? Sometimes that’s the only way. But when I live there too long, I stop being a strategic leader. I become the fire extinguisher.

And eventually, if I’m not careful— That kind of leadership will get me fired.

Casual project management becomes no project management.

No trail. No paper. No leverage. No progress.

🛠️ So What Now?

If you're nodding along—knowing your project docs are half-baked, your plans live in your head, and your inbox has become your strategy—you’re not broken. But you are off course.

And you know it.

Because deep down, you’re not someone who wings it.
You’re someone who usually has their shit together.

But even the most capable leaders fall into triage mode.
The problem? Triage is only supposed to be temporary.
Stay there too long, and it stops being strategic.
It becomes your new baseline.

And here’s the truth:

👉 You wouldn’t run a project like this—so why are you running yourself like this?

👉 You’d never tolerate this level of chaos from your team—so why tolerate it from you?

It’s time to recalibrate.

📌 Rebuild your command center.
📌 Treat your work like the high-stakes project it is.
📌 Stop outsourcing your structure to the urgency of others.

This isn’t about guilt. It’s about getting back to your power.
You’re not behind—you’re ready.

Let’s get you reset.

⚡ Rapid Fix: Straight Line Mini

Use this self-audit to rebuild structure—and credibility.

Accept – Say it: “I’ve let my systems slip. It’s costing me trust, clarity, and time.”

Choose – Decide to treat your own work like a project again. No exceptions.

Identify – Create a personal kanban board: list every project on your plate.

For each one, audit the basics:

• 📝 Documentation (Is there a charter or plan?)
• 📊 Current Status (Do I know where this really stands?)
• 💬 Last Update (Have I communicated it recently?)

Prepare – Block time on your calendar—early morning, lunch, or end of day—to catch up project by project. This is your job, not a favor.

Execute – Pick one project. Update what’s missing.
Then move to the next.

🔍 Deep Dive: Organize Like a Pro

If your project documentation is a mess, you’re not alone. The good news? There’s a system for that—and it’s not just for digital hoarders.

Start with the PARA Method by Tiago Forte, a simple, powerful framework to organize everything you’re working on:

• Projects: Current, active efforts with clear goals
• Areas: Ongoing responsibilities (like "Marketing" or "Operations")
• Resources: Useful info that may come in handy later
• Archive: Everything that’s done or no longer active

🧠 Learn how to apply PARA in real time:

• Organize Your ENTIRE Digital Life in Seconds (The PARA Method)
• The PARA Method, Explained (Building a Second Brain)

🎧 Want more? Read (or Blink) the book that started it all:
Building a Second Brain by Tiago Forte → Read on Blinkist

Start here, and give your future self the clarity you're missing today.

If your workdays feel like a never-ending crisis response, it’s not a character flaw—it’s a systems issue.

But here's the truth most people avoid:
There’s never a perfect moment to catch up.
Life rarely slows down long enough to hand you a reset.

You have to make that moment.
You have to build that pause.
Because staying in perpetual reaction mode will drain your impact—and your sanity.

When your calendar is chaos and your team needs more than you can give, it’s not hustle that saves you.

It’s your system.

🛠️ Structure creates stability.
🧭 Stability creates clarity.
⚡ Clarity drives real progress.

The demands won’t stop.
But you can stop defaulting to disarray.

Build your infrastructure before you burn out.

You know more than you think.
Let’s build from there.

Nic | The Exec Advisor